Mother and daughter charged in Stamford pot bust

John Nickerson

Updated 9:33 pm, Friday, August 1, 2014

STAMFORD -- Police raided a home early Friday and charged a mother and daughter with operating a drug factory and possessing about a pound of high-grade marijuana.

Asia Beatty, 21, and Teresa Beatty, 50, of Raymond St., were charged with possession of marijuana, conspiracy to commit the crime of possession of marijuana, illegal sale or manufacture of controlled drugs, conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to sell, operating a drug factory, conspiracy to operate a drug factory and sale of a controlled substance.

The two were released shortly after their arrest after posting $1,000 bond.

Capt. Richard Conklin said the Beatty home has been the target of neighbor complaints because people were coming and going at the house at all hours of the day. Also living in the house was Teresa Beatty's mother, who is in her 80s or early 90s, Conklin said.

Several weeks ago, Conklin said the Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit sent an undercover officer to the home, who bought a quantity of marijuana.

With that information, police obtained a search warrant and raided the home at about 5 a.m. Friday. Police had also obtained some information that there may be firearms in the house and brought along the city's Special Response Team. No guns were found, Conklin said.

Inside the home, police found about a pound a marijuana cut up for sale in different quantities. They also found 25 Lidocaine patches, a local anesthetic which is also a controlled substance, Conklin said.

In addition to $189 in cash, police found five large plastic water-cooler bottles stuffed with meticulously folded dollar bills.

Conklin, who said he has never seen anything like that before, believes there was several thousand dollars in the bottles. Police officers were working to fish the bills out of the bottles, unfold them and flatten them in order to put the currency through counting machine.

"It has made a lot of work for us. I've seen water coolers filled with change, but never $1 bills. It will take a lot of time to count," Conklin said.